What drives someone to take justice into their own hands? Why would someone kill for a deity only they can hear? Is a person’s breaking point the end of them, or just the beginning of something terrible and new?
Tale of a Torturer is the second book in The Grey Templars series. Written by Anthony Condos, this novel focuses on the alien commander Kalidas as he goes through a particularly traumatic, and long, period of his life. We get to see what turns this paragon of the Dan-Yeeki people into the killer wanted galaxy-wide, Blade Wind.
Anthony revives the quasi-post apocalyptic setting from the first book, drawing on sci-fi and supernatural themes. Though this book spends a lot more time in new and alien locations, and with new and alien characters. As such it leans far more into the sci-fi side of the setting than Humanity’s Haven did.
This allows for a much broader story to be told. One which takes the central character to different planets, and has him butt heads with a variety of alien species. Each location change corresponds to a psychological or mindset change in the main character, making the world building aspect of explaining each place fit more organically into the story.
Anthony again has a lot of ideas and enthusiasm, though this time they seem far better focused. Much like the first book action segments play a large part in the story, but these are more deliberately spaced between sections that deliver narrative movement or character development. This book feels less frenetic; less like the reader is being quickly ushered from bombastic action set piece to bombastic action set piece.
In fact, Tale of a Torturer overall seems like a much more finely crafted novel. A lot of care has been taken in presenting characters and scenes. The various personalities throughout the book feel distinct and memorable, while locations are described with enough detail that the reader can build a more understandable mental picture of them.
I think this might be because Anthony is telling a far more personal tale than the epic battle of good and evil laid out in Humanity’s Haven. There is time for the reader to get to know the characters, their motivations and quirks, and generally become more invested in what happens to them. This, coupled with far fewer asides discussing the history of the setting, means that the story elements all seem to mesh naturally.
It’s good to see that Anthony learnt from Humanity’s Haven, assessing what did and didn’t work in the novel and addressing this in Tale of a Torturer accordingly. What this gives the reader is a far more coherent and enjoyable experience which delivers the story as intended.
With a much tighter and directed writing style, Tale of a Torturer is a fantastic reward for those returning for Anthony’s second novel. It reiterates and builds upon the original structure, and genuinely provides some clarity to portions of the first book. While for those jumping in now, Tale of a Torturer is a well written story that delivers a heartbreaking and hopeful story.
The Grey Templars: Tale of a Torturer is available now in digital or print from Smashwords, ibooks, Kobo, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
